


An Alternate Beginning

by courtinator



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Beacon Hills Lacrosse Team, Canonical Child Abuse, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Hurt Isaac Lahey, Hurt/Comfort, Isaac Lahey & Scott McCall Friendship, Isaac Lahey & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Isaac Lahey Feels, Male Friendship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Scott is a Good Friend, Werewolf Scott McCall (Teen Wolf)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29731908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/courtinator/pseuds/courtinator
Summary: An AU of season one.  A look at how the story would change if Scott met Isaac in the first season.
Relationships: Isaac Lahey & Isaac Lahey's Father, Isaac Lahey & Melissa McCall, Isaac Lahey & Melissa McCall & Scott McCall, Isaac Lahey & Scott McCall, Isaac Lahey & Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 77
Kudos: 48
Collections: A Collection of Beloved Inserts





	1. Chapter 1

“What did I do to deserve a disgraceful team like this?” Coach Finstock shouted, throwing down his clipboard in disgust. Scott rolled his eyes, continuing with his wind sprints. He was systematically sending each player to run, whenever he saw anything not up to par. Scott wasn’t even sure what he’d done wrong, but at least he was away from Finstock’s wrath for the moment. The coach was usually a good guy, but today he was in rare form.

Not too long ago, all this running would be killing him. But thanks to his newfound abilities, his asthma was gone and he felt great. He smirked at Jackson’s snarl as he passed him, the historically fitter teen panting from exertion while Scott was breathing easy. Scott may not be completely happy with his new life, but it did have its perks.

“Number 14! If you drop another ball, you’ll be picking up the whole field after practice. You got that?” Finstock yelled, startling the boy into dropping the ball again. Scott heard him whimper a little from where he stood across the field, but he brushed it off. Post practice clean up wasn’t the most fun, but it wasn’t the end of the world either.

“Share some of your mojo with me, dude!” Stiles gasped from where he was sprawled out on the ground. Stiles had been one of the first sent to run, for reasons that didn’t need to be explained. Scott just shook his head with a laugh, taking off again at an increased speed. He was being a showoff, but not too obvious. Scott didn’t need any extra attention called on him.

“I should keep you losers out here doing drills all night, but I’m kind of sick of seeing your faces. I can feel my own greatness being leached from my body, just from being around you,” Finstock laughed, blowing his whistle right next to Danny’s ear. “Everyone hit the showers and get out of my sight. Except you, 14. If I find a single piece of equipment out here in the morning, you’ll wish I liked you as much as Greenburg.”

Everyone else sprinted off the field, just as eager as the coach to be done with this practice. Scott pulled Stiles up off the ground, chuckling as his friend exaggeratedly limped his way to the locker rooms. Scott was about to follow him when the other teen left on the field started scrambling around, picking up as much equipment at a time as he could. For the life of him, Scott couldn’t come up with a name for the boy. He didn’t think they’d ever actually spoken, even though he was sure they’d gone to school together for years.

Scott was again about to continue on his way, but a quiet muttering caught his attention. He never would’ve been able to hear it otherwise, but his wolf hearing made it as clear as day now. The other teen was cursing under his breath, mumbling about how his dad was going to kill him. Was this really that big of a deal? Evidently it was to this kid, so Scott decided to take pity on him and help him clean up. Scott didn’t have to go to work tonight and his mom was at the hospital, so it wouldn’t matter if he took his time getting home. He started picking up balls as he made his way over.

“Need some help?” Scott asked, causing the other boy to flinch so hard that he dropped everything he was holding. He spun around, shooting Scott a frightened glance before relaxing a bit when he saw it was only him. He groaned, stooping down to pick up everything he’d dropped, his panicked movements making the job harder than it needed to be.

“Thanks,” the boy mumbled when Scott bent down to help him gather the fallen objects.

“No problem,” Scott brushed off, tucking a stick under his arm. “I’m Scott, by the way.”

“I know,” the boy answered quietly, not offering up his own name in return. Scott felt bad introducing himself to someone he’d vaguely known for years and he was too embarrassed to outright ask his name now. They kept on in silence, the other teen sprinting over to the equipment buckets as soon as his hands were full. He kept checking his watch, cursing as the minutes ticked by.

“Are you okay?” Scott finally asked, after he couldn’t take not knowing anymore. His classmate looked up at him in surprise, biting his lip as if he wasn’t sure he should answer.

“I’m gonna be late for work,” he sighed, wringing his hands in the hem of his uniform top.

“Dude, why didn’t you say so? I can finish up for you,” Scott offered. He looked like he wanted to protest, but there was the smallest spark of hope in his eyes at the suggestion. Scott decided to help him out, grabbing the stick the other boy had under his arm.

“Are you sure?” he asked, biting his lip. At Scott’s nod, he relaxed his shoulders a bit, Scott only realizing now how tense the other boy had been this whole time. “Thanks. I owe you.” Scott waved him off, watching as the boy ran across the field, skipping the locker room entirely and darting around the side of the school. That was a little strange, but Scott shrugged it off. He probably had clothes at his job he could change into.

Scott finished picking up the field, taking extra care to make sure he didn’t leave a single thing behind. He couldn’t offer to help and then do a bad job while the other boy’s ass was on the line. When he saw everything was in perfect order, he made his way back to the locker room, ready to wash off the day’s funk and get home. Thoughts of the other boy fled from his mind as he went through his routine, replaced by musings of Allison and their relationship.


	2. Chapter 2

Scott closed his eyes, imagining he was anywhere else besides chemistry class, listening to Harris drone on and on about compounds and molecules and something else that was slowly sucking out his soul. This was by far his worst class and he dreaded it everyday. He tried to take notes as best he could, but Harris’ monotonous voice was threatening to put him to sleep. Scott hoped Stiles was taking good notes, because he was going to need the help of his smarter friend.

Scott barely noticed the door opening toward the end of class, but he did perk up at the sight of the boy from yesterday slipping into the room. He was standing nervously just inside the classroom, gripping his backpack strap as he stared down at his feet.

“Ah, Mr. Lahey, so nice of you to join us for the last five minutes of class,” Harris drawled, waving toward the empty seat in the back. The boy scurried off in that direction, sinking down in his seat. No, not the boy, his name was Isaac, Scott finally recalled. “Don’t think this gets you out of the quiz tomorrow. You’ll have to ask one of your wonderful classmates if they are willing to let you borrow their notes.” Isaac ducked his head down, hiding his face as everyone turned to stare at him. Scott felt something clench in his stomach looking over at him, worried by how he was acting. He racked his brain, trying to think of the other times he’d seen Isaac around school and failing to come up with a time he saw him relaxed.

The bell rang, signalling the end of class and startling Scott out of his thoughts, making him realize he’d completely missed the last bit of the lecture. He glanced back to find Isaac already gone and sighed. He didn’t know why the boy was sticking in his mind so much, but now that he was there, he wasn’t going to go away. Not until he found out more about him.

“At least the quiz sounds easy enough,” Stiles sighed, shoving his papers back into his folder. Scott snorted in complete disagreement.

“You gotta help me study tonight. If I don’t ace this thing, I’m screwed,” Scott moaned, flinging his backpack over his shoulder.

“Can’t bro,” Stiles winced, following him out of the room and toward the cafeteria for lunch. “I got a thing with my dad later. But you can borrow my notes after last period. Give me another chance to brush up on everything.”

“You’re a lifesaver!” Scott laughed, patting his back as they got in line to buy their food. They chatted about random things while they waited, drifting back into the easy friendship they’d enjoyed with each other for years. Even after all the crap they’d been dealing with the last few weeks, they knew they could always count on each other. They were about to head to their normal table when Scott stopped short, noticing Isaac hunched at a table all alone, picking at a small granola bar.

“What’re you doing?” Stiles asked, stepping into Scott’s line of vision. How could Scott explain this feeling he had about Isaac? He couldn’t even explain it to himself. He just knew he didn’t like the idea of Isaac sitting alone anymore, even though it was probably a daily thing for him.

“Let’s sit over here today,” Scott said, walking off without waiting for an answer. Scott could smell the confusion rolling off of Stiles, but he followed without question. Isaac hadn’t noticed their approach and jumped when the pair of trays clacked down onto the table.

“Hey Isaac!” Scott greeted brightly, pretending not to notice his constant anxiety. “You mind if we sit here?” Stiles didn’t wait for an invitation, plopping down on the bench and tucking into his hamburger. Isaac shrugged, so Scott took that as a yes and sat down next to Stiles.

“Uh, thanks again for your help yesterday,” Isaac mumbled, sliding his sleeve covered hands across the tabletop.

“No problem,” Scott said, waving away his appreciation. It wasn’t a big deal at all. “Did you end up being late to work?”

“No. I mean, yeah, but it wasn’t a big deal,” Isaac stammered, shoving the rest of his bar in his mouth. Scott just nodded gently, not questioning him about it any further. He started on his own lunch, sitting in companionable silence with the other boys. Stiles was usually the one to make conversation, but even he was being quiet right now. It was so quiet that Scott could hear the sound of Isaac’s rumbling stomach.

“You aren’t getting food?” Scott asked, trying to sound casual.

“I forgot to grab money this morning, but I had this, so it’s fine,” Isaac mumbled, gesturing to the empty wrapper on the table. “I’m not hungry anyway.” Scott knew he was lying, but he couldn’t outright say that his werewolf hearing gave him the ability to hear his stomach. That wouldn’t go over well.

“Have some of my fries,” Scott offered, sliding his tray out to sit in between them. “I had a big breakfast this morning and was probably gonna end up throwing most of them away.”

“No really, you don’t need to do that,” Isaac said, flicking his eyes over the food and away again. Scott didn’t think he’d ever met anyone so timid in his life.

“He’s being serious,” Stiles piped up around his mouthful of food. “Scott is such a food waster.”

“If you’re sure,” Isaac agreed, slipping a hand out from under his sleeve. Scott gasped at the sight of his fingers, grabbing Isaac’s hand before he could stop himself. Isaac was too shocked to pull away immediately, giving him a chance to see everything in all its glory. Every nail on his hand was broken and torn, with dried blood caked in the cracks. The ends of his fingertips were scraped up too, just barely scabbed over at this point.

“What happened?” Scott asked, finally letting Isaac pull his hand back and tuck it protectively into his sleeve.

“Just an accident at work,” Isaac mumbled, folding his hands up under his arms as his face turned bright red.

“Did they make you start digging the graves by hand?” Stiles snorted, but Scott could tell he was a little worried too.

“How did you-” Isaac started, before looking down in embarrassment.

“I saw you there once when I was visiting,” Stiles answered, suddenly very interested in swirling a french fry through his ketchup.

“Uh, there was this lid I couldn’t get open. No big deal,” Isaac muttered, fidgeting in his seat. Scott could feel Stiles’ stare on the side of his face, but he didn’t want Isaac to think they were having a silent conversation about him, even though they realistically could at this point. He could practically see the red flags waving in Stiles’ mind right now.

“Ouch, that sucks. I hope your gloves aren’t too uncomfortable during lacrosse,” Scott commented, trying to lighten the mood. He didn’t want Isaac to completely clam up or just flat out leave. “We better start on these fries before they get cold. Nothing worse than cold fries, right?” Scott nudged the tray a little closer to Isaac, waiting for him to finally take a bite. Isaac carefully grabbed one from the top, making sure he didn’t touch any others.

“So why’d you miss chemistry today?” Stiles asked, finishing off the last of his burger. “Not that I blame you. Harris is the worst.”

“Got out late,” Isaac mumbled around his bite of food.

“Got out?” Stiles asked.

“Woke up late. Got out of the house late. And then my bike was…“ Isaac trailed off, stumbling over his words.

“Got it. Just one of those days, am I right?” Stiles chuckled, twisting his hands along the lid of his water bottle.

“Yeah,” Isaac agreed, shoving another couple fries in his mouth. Scott made a note to remember that Isaac would use food to get out of talking whenever possible. Although he wasn’t sure what he would do with that information. Speaking of notes, that gave Scott a great idea.

“Hey, remember how you said you owed me yesterday?” Scott asked, shooting the other boy a small grin.

“Yes,” Isaac answered warily.

“I am hopelessly unprepared for the chemistry quiz tomorrow, so I was wondering if you’d want to come to my house after practice and help me study? Stiles is letting me borrow his notes, but he’s busy,” Scott proposed, lifting his eyebrows hopefully.

“I’m not really the person you’d want to study with. Chemistry isn’t my best subject,” Isaac said with a frown.

“Scott’s already failing, I don’t think you could do much damage,” Stiles snickered, earning himself a sharp elbow. Scott didn’t need that broadcast.

“Come on, I’m sure we could figure it out together,” Scott prodded, nodding at the boy to get him to consider. “Unless you have other plans?”

“No, no plans,” Isaac sighed, biting at his lip. “Can I borrow your phone so I can let my dad know I’ll be home late?”

“Of course!” Scott answered cheerfully, sliding his cell over for Isaac to use. He excused himself from the table, going into a quieter part of the cafeteria to make his call.

“What the hell?” Stiles whispered as soon as Isaac was out of earshot. “Since when are we all about Isaac Lahey?”

“I don’t know. I just have this feeling, I guess,” Scott shrugged, trying not to eavesdrop on Isaac’s conversation. “Everyone could use more friends.”

“But is now really the time to be making them?” Stiles asked, raising a good argument. They did have a lot going on these days, but now that Isaac was on his radar, he wouldn’t be able to let it go until he knew everything was okay.

“I get what you’re saying, but it doesn’t have to be that deep. Nothing wrong with another person to talk to at school, right? And I’m sure Isaac is a good guy, once you get to know him,” Scott said, pasting a smile back on his face as Isaac approached the table again.

“It’s fine, as long as I’m not home too late,” Isaac said, setting the phone back down on the table.

“Great!” Scott exclaimed, tucking the cell back into his pocket. “We can head to my house after practice.” Isaac nodded, but didn’t sit back down.

“I’m gonna head to my locker, make sure I have what I need for my next class,” Isaac said, slinking off with a small wave.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Stiles said, balling up his napkin and tossing it on his tray. Scott hoped so too.


	3. Chapter 3

Practice went on much like the previous day’s had, except this time Scott was the one getting on Finstock’s nerves. Evidently he was playing too well, which he didn’t understand, but had already been singled out for cleanup duty after practice. Scott shrugged it off, playing harder just to needle the man.

When the torture was finally over, Scott started on his task. He sent Stiles off, since he was going to meet with his dad, and he promised to put the notes in his backpack as he jogged to the locker room. Scott smiled when he noticed Isaac helping out. He knew the longer it took him, the longer Isaac would be stuck waiting since they were leaving together, but Scott was pretty sure Isaac would help regardless.

“What do you think Finstock’s problem is this week?” Scott asked as they walked the last of the stuff to their proper location. Isaac hadn’t spoken since lunch, no matter how many times Scott had tried to start a conversation. He was very good at shrugging and letting everyone else keep the topic going.

“Mmmm,” Isaac hummed with a slight head tilt. Scott considered that progress. They split up when they got to the locker room, with Scott deciding to skip the shower for now. He could just take one at home really quick, where it was much more comfortable. He flipped through the chemistry notes to pass the time as he waited for Isaac to finish up, once again thanking his lucky stars that he had a friend like Stiles.

The shower shut off and Scott gave him a couple more minutes before he grabbed his stuff and walked over to Isaac’s locker in the back corner. He froze when he saw him. Isaac was facing away and hadn’t put his shirt on yet. His entire back was covered in bruises and Scott couldn’t stifle the gasp at the sight. Isaac spun around at the sound, a look of complete fear on his face. His chest and stomach were just as battered.

“Dude, what the hell?” Scott whispered, covering his mouth in shock. “What happened? Are you okay?” Isaac quickly slid his shirt on and Scott could hear his heart pounding away in his chest.

“It’s from lacrosse,” Isaac mumbled, piling on all his usual layers.

“We haven’t done contact drills at all this week,” Scott pointed out, resisting the urge to bring up the safety gear they also wore. Even during his weaker existence, he’d never gotten banged up like that.

“From last week then. I think I just bruise easy because I’m so pale,” Isaac excused, ducking down to put on his shoes. Scott knew that explanation was bogus, because no one was as pale as Stiles and Stiles never looked like that. But Scott didn’t want to push too hard, because he’d just drive Isaac away. They barely knew each other, so he couldn’t expect them to start sharing their secrets. Scott sure wasn’t.

“You gotta be more careful. Maybe you can switch with Danny and be goalie?” Scott suggested with a laugh. Isaac wrinkled his nose, shrugging his backpack on.

“Nah, too much pressure. No one remembers the guy that misses the shots, just the guy who can’t block them,” Isaac said, nodding that he was ready. Scott smiled, realizing that was the first time Isaac had vocalized an opinion about anything. Maybe they were making progress?

They walked to Scott’s house in mostly silence as he pushed his bike along the sidewalk. He’d comment idly about things they passed, but he wasn’t really trying that hard. Scott couldn’t keep his mind off of those bruises. He’d never seen anything like it before and he’d visited his mom when she was working a lot. He’d seen some crazy stuff when an emergency patient came in.

Scott had no idea how to bring it up though. He didn’t know what Isaac’s home life was like and couldn’t just flat out ask. A secret fight club would be the best case scenario and while he wouldn’t doubt there was one in a town like Beacon Hills, he didn’t think that was Isaac’s style. Then again, he didn’t really know much at all about the boy. Scott knew if an almost stranger started prodding him for info about his personal life, he’d resist no matter how well meaning they were. He’d have to play this cool and hope Isaac would naturally open up.

“Here we are,” Scott said, throwing his bike along the side of the house and unlocking the door that led into the kitchen. Isaac took the time to thoroughly clean the bottoms of his shoes before he followed him into the house, hovering near the door much like he had in chemistry earlier. “We should probably set up in here. There’s the most space and best lighting.”

“Okay,” Isaac agreed quietly, setting his backpack down beside a chair and sitting in it. He started grabbing supplies, placing them in a careful stack on the table. Scott was used to the hurricane also known as Stiles, all flapping limbs and flailing parts. Isaac was so cautious and calculated. He wondered if Isaac was naturally like this, or if it was bred from survival.

“You want something to eat? I’m starving,” Scott suggested, rummaging through his cupboards for something easy to set out. He wasn’t really that hungry, but wanted to get some more food in Isaac since he’d eaten so little at lunch.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have eaten all your fries,” Isaac apologized with a stricken look on his face. Well, this had backfired already.

“No dude, I’m always hungry after practice. It has nothing to do with how much I ate at lunch,” Scott said quickly, grabbing a bag of chips. He had to change the mood fast. “And besides, my mom would kill me if I had a guest over and didn’t feed them. Even after all these years, she still makes me offer Stiles food and he’s family now. Like has his own key and comes and goes as he pleases family.”

“I’ll have whatever you’re having,” Isaac said, tapping his pen against his notebook. This was gonna be a tough nut to crack, but Scott could be tenacious when he needed to be.

“Aw nice, I thought we had pizza pockets!” Scott exclaimed in triumph, pulling the bag out of the freezer and searching for a pan. No one could resist the draw of greasy little pockets of dough. He threw them in the oven and turned around, surprised to find a hesitant look on Isaac’s face. Was he vegan or something? “What?”

“You can’t just put those in the oven like that. You have to let it preheat,” Isaac said carefully, as if he was expecting to get yelled at.

“Is that why they always come out so weird for me?” Scott gasped, grabbing the tray out of the oven before it could get hot.

“Didn’t you read the directions?” Isaac asked, quirking a brow.

“Not really,” Scott admitted, rummaging around in the trash for the packaging he’d thrown away without a care. Isaac actually stepped over to read them to, pointing out the clear instruction to let the oven warm up before putting the food in. “My mom is gonna love you. Just wait until she finds out you taught me how to cook!”

“This isn’t really cooking, it’s just reading. But if you can’t do that, I’m not sure studying for this test is going to go very well,” Isaac said with a small grin. Scott wanted to whoop in celebration. Isaac had actually smiled and told a joke. He felt strangely like a parent watching their kid take their first steps and he immediately made sure to never let himself say something like that out loud.

“Well, if you help me ace this quiz, you might overtake Stiles’ spot as her favorite,” Scott laughed, moving back over to the table to sit down.

“We’re using Stiles’ notes though, so I’m pretty sure his ranking is secure,” Isaac said, going back to his own seat. Scott opened the bag of chips, waving them under Isaac’s nose until he rolled his eyes and took a few. He was still being extra careful not to touch anything he wasn’t going to take, with his battered fingers.

They started poring over the notes as they waited for the food to finish cooking, grateful that Stiles was thorough and well organized. Even if he wasn’t always in his normal life, he’d usually been good at focusing on schoolwork. Especially after the doctor’s tweaked his medication dosage.

“I hate Harris!” Scott groaned, resting his forehead on the table. Isaac was looking up a definition in his chemistry book, trying to figure out at least part of what they were going to be tested on. It was completely hopeless though. Scott knew he’d never be prepared for this quiz. How was he going to explain his grade to his mom?

“I’m pretty sure he hates us too,” Isaac commented idly, jotting something down in his notebook.

“Not as much as he hates Stiles,” Scott snorted, reading what Isaac had written.

“Yeah, why is that?” Isaac asked, biting at the end of his pen.

“I think it’s ‘cause he barely listens in class and still aces all the assignments,” Scott answered with a grin.

“I wish I had that power,” Isaac mumbled, slumping in his chair.

“What power would you have, if you could choose?” Scott asked, jumping up to grab the food when the timer finally went off.

“I’d say invisibility, but I’m already pretty good at that,” Isaac muttered.

“That’s not true,” Scott argued, not wanting Isaac to beat down on himself. This was supposed to be a lighthearted conversation starter.

“Can you honestly say that you knew my name yesterday?” Isaac challenged, looking him in the eye longer than Scott could remember him ever doing. He wanted to lie, but he knew it would be a bad idea.

“Well, no, but if there’s anything I’m worse at than chemistry, it’s remembering names,” Scott claimed, hoping he wasn’t about to push Isaac completely away. To his relief, Isaac just smirked, letting him off the hook.

“It’s fine. I’m not very interesting,” Isaac sighed, flipping his book closed.

“That’s not true, you’re just mysterious. Not everyone needs to be an open book. It makes the information people get mean a lot more, since they have to work for it,” Scott said, sounding straight out of a self help book. Something he said must’ve been right though, since Isaac smiled for real this time.

“Where the hell did that come from?” Isaac laughed, shaking his head in amusement.

“I got my tonsils out in middle school and watched a lot of daytime talk shows,” Scott chuckled, plating up the food and putting it on the table within both of their reach. “Really though, what would it be? I think I’d like to fly. I’d love doing flips and tricks.”

“Teleportation,” Isaac answered with a soft smile. “Just being able to escape and go wherever you wanted in the blink of an eye.”

“What are you trying to escape?” Scott asked, trying to sound casual. Isaac seemed to realize what he just said and grabbed a pizza pocket. He rolled it in his hands a few times before his smile returned, this one a little more mischievous.

“Harris’ class.”


	4. Chapter 4

An hour and multiple read throughs of the notes later, Scott felt like he’d done all he could to get himself prepared for the quiz tomorrow. There were only so many times he could read the same words before they all started to blend together and turn his brain to mush. Isaac looked finished too, slumping over on his elbow as he spun the last of the now cold pizza rolls. Scott was pleased to find they worked well together, bouncing questions off each other that they may not have thought of on their own. But now it was awkward again because they didn’t have that buffer between them.

“I should probably get going,” Isaac said, sliding his books back into his bag. Scott felt a little panic bubble up in his chest at the idea. Isaac being here was safe. Isaac being somewhere else was obviously not. Maybe it was a wolf thing that was making him so protective, but he wasn’t ready to let Isaac leave yet.

“You should stay for dinner!” Scott blurted out, biting the inside of his cheek at the awkward, high pitched quality of his voice. What was happening to him?

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Isaac answered, shaking his head. “Besides, we finished studying, which is why you asked me over.”

“I mean yeah, that was the main reason I asked you over, but not the only reason. You seem like a good guy and I had fun today,” Scott said, trying not to sound too aggressive or creepy. How did people make friends at this age? Everything was just too complicated.

“You had fun studying for a shitty chemistry quiz?” Isaac asked in confusion.

“It wasn’t about the studying, it was about the company,” Scott grinned, trying to sway the other boy by being slightly corny.

“I don’t know…”

“You don’t have to be home yet, do you?”

“I guess not.”

“My mom will be home soon and she’d be so happy to walk in to find I’ve made her dinner. She works so hard at the hospital, but you’ve seen how hopeless I am in the kitchen. Will you help me?” Scott asked, watching the last of Isaac’s arguments drift away.

“Fine, but you have to do all the work,” Isaac sighed, wiggling his fingers in his direction. “I’ll just tell you what to do.”

“Great!” Scott exclaimed, bouncing up from his seat. He rushed over to the fridge, looking for something that would impress his mom. “What should we make?”

“What do you have?” Isaac asked from right behind him. Scott twitched a little, shocked that the other boy had been able to get so close without him noticing. That rarely happened anymore. Maybe the invisibility thing had been more true than Scott wanted to admit.

“There’s a chicken?” Scott said, poking at a bag of meat on the bottom shelf.

“That’ll work. And it’s not too hard,” Isaac agreed, stepping back so Scott could set it on the counter. Scott had never really attempted anything more complicated than something that came out of a can, so he hoped Isaac knew what he was doing. The werewolf side of him would probably be able to take care of any food poisoning that might come up, but his mom would be screwed.

“What should we have with it? I’m sure I can find an old box of macaroni if I dig deep,” Scott asked, already feeling overwhelmed. His plan to keep Isaac here longer was turning into something more complicated for himself.

“How about those potatoes?” Isaac suggested, pointing to the bowl sitting next to the fridge. Scott grabbed them, placing them next to the chicken.

“You sure you know what you’re doing?” Scott asked, shooting a nervous glance up at the taller boy.

“I promise it will be easier than chemistry,” Isaac smirked, gesturing for him to get started. And it really was, with Isaac’s calm and thorough instructions. He talked Scott through every step, giving him tips on different parts without making him feel dumb. And he was actually having fun, except for during the raw chicken parts. Soon enough they had everything roasting in the oven.

“Do you cook a lot?” Scott asked after they finally sat back down at the table.

“Kind of. My dad works a lot, so I try to help out where I can,” Isaac said with a shrug.

“Well, he’s lucky to have you. My mom is gonna flip when she sees this. What did you have last night?” Scott questioned.

“I didn’t,” Isaac murmured absentmindedly.

“You didn’t have dinner?” Scott asked, failing to keep the worry out of his voice.

“I meant that I didn’t cook!” Isaac stammered quickly, tucking his sleeve covered hands under his arms. “I was stuck in- at work.”

“Oh, well I’m sure it was nice to have the break from cooking for the night. Maybe you can teach me how to make a few things, you know, if you wanted?” Scott proposed. He thought Isaac would be more agreeable if he thought he was doing something for another person, than just hanging out for himself. That’s what had worked on him so far.

“Uh, I don’t know. With school and lacrosse and my job, I don’t know if I’d have the time,” Isaac mumbled, staring down at the table.

“Yeah, I get it. I work down at Dr. Deaton’s veterinary clinic. Do you know it? He’s really great,” Scott babbled, trying to back off after pushing too hard.

“I don’t have any pets,” Isaac said, curling further into himself. Why was Scott so bad at this? This was probably why he’d only had one friend for so long.

“Neither do I, although I’d love a dog. My mom says we’re too busy to take care of one and I guess she’s right, but people figure out ways to deal with that, right? Like hiring a dog walker. But then that’s kind of weird, because who wants a random person having free access to your house? And I guess there are other pets we could get besides a dog, but you can’t really go on runs or play fetch with a cat. And birds are pretty weird. My mom would probably like having a big, fancy fish tank, but those are hard work to clean and kind of boring,” Scott prattled, only stopping when he heard a quiet snort of amusement coming from the mostly silent boy.

“And people think Stiles is the motormouth,” Isaac joked, glancing up at him quickly. Scott shot him a crooked smile, happy he could bring the mood back up after the earlier flub. They pulled out homework for other classes and worked on that next to each other, only stopping for Scott to check the oven every five minutes.

They had fallen into a comfortable rhythm by the time Scott heard his mom’s key scratching into the lock on the front door. Isaac heard it too and immediately tensed up. Scott knew meeting parents could be a little awkward, but this reaction was a little worrying. Not like any of Isaac’s other moments hadn’t been though.

“Oh my goodness, what smells so good?” his mom called from the other room as she hung up her coat. “I hope you ordered enough food for me.” She walked into the room and paused when she saw Isaac. Isaac was attempting to fold up into himself, with his hands under the table and his head dipped low.

“Hey mom, this is Isaac. He’s a friend from school,” Scott introduced, pretending he didn’t see the momentary look of surprise pass over Isaac’s face at his words.

“It’s nice to meet you. I suppose I have you to thank for all this?” she asked, gesturing to the oven that was pumping out the heavenly smell.

“I’m so sorry if I overstepped. I was just trying to help,” Isaac whispered, looking like he wanted the ground to swallow him up.

“Oh honey, if you’re this good of an influence on my son, I insist you come over more often,” she soothed, putting on the voice she used for skittish patients at work. “While I love Stiles to death, the shenanigans these boys could get into are pretty astounding. If you can convince Scott to cook dinner and do his homework, I may never let you leave.”

“Stiles and I are not that bad together,” Scott defended, sending a conspiratorial look over at Isaac. “It helps when your friend’s dad is the sheriff.”

“Scott!” his mom scolded, shaking her head in amusement. “Absolutely incorrigible.” She ruffled her hand through his hair as she hopped over to the oven to take a peek inside.

“Mom!” Scott groaned, trying to fix his hair back into place.

“Oh, roasted chicken and potatoes! One of my favorites. There’s just something so comforting about it, especially after a long day at work. I used to love sitting down and eating as a family when I was a kid. We just don’t do it often enough,” she murmured nostalgically.

“I should go,” Isaac insisted, quickly shoving all of his school supplies in his backpack. “I wouldn’t want to impose on your family time.”

“Don’t be silly! How rude would I be to not let you stay for the meal you helped prepare?” she laughed, her face turning to shock when she spun to face the table. Isaac’s sleeves had ridden up in his haste to clear away his stuff, exposing his fingers. “What happened?”

“Nothing!” Isaac gasped, hiding his hands as he realized his mistake. His face was red and his eyes looked a little shiny, but Scott looked away before Isaac could notice he was staring.

“Would you mind if I looked? Did Scott tell you I’m a nurse?” his mom asked, carefully approaching the skittish boy.

“It’s fine though, really,” Isaac said, turning away from her.

“Please?” she requested, crouching down to be at his level. Isaac bit his lip, slowly pulling his hands back out. She gently set one on her palm, giving it a thorough look. “Oh, ouch sweetie. Does it hurt?”

“No,” Isaac answered quietly, submitting to his mom’s ministrations.

“Scott, can you grab one of the first aid kits for me please?” she directed, setting Isaac’s hands on the table before going to the sink and washing her own. Scott sprinted to where the best stocked kit in the house was, wanting to hurry so Isaac wasn’t stuck alone with his mom for too long.

“Really, you don’t need to do all this,” Isaac said as he walked back into the room.

“Dude, being a mom and a nurse combined means she literally can’t help it,” Scott laughed, setting the supplies on the table. His mom pulled a chair up close to Isaac and got ready to work.

“How’d this happen?”

“Why?”

“Well, I need to know what caused this, so I know what to look for. If it was wood, I’ll need to make sure there are no hidden splinters.”

“No wood, just a lid.”

“Did you clean up after?”

“I washed my hands.”

“Right after it happened?”

“No, I couldn’t for a while.”

“Why not?”

“Um, I was at work so I couldn’t get out for a while. I mean, couldn’t get to a sink, you know. Just busy,” Isaac stammered, clamming up like he was known to do. Scott could tell he was lying, but he couldn’t say anything without scaring Isaac off altogether.

He was racking his brain to try to figure out what could cause an injury like that, but nothing made sense. It couldn’t be something simple, or else he wouldn’t clam up anytime someone saw them or said anything. Maybe it was something illegal, but Scott was pretty sure it had something to do with the bruises. He wished he could point those out to his mom, but Isaac would definitely never trust him again.

“Well, everything seems to be healing properly, but I’d still like to clean them and apply some cream, just in case,” his mom said, pulling out some bottles and tubes and gauze. “Don’t worry, this isn’t the stuff that burns.”

“Okay,” Isaac nodded, sitting still so she could work her magic. Scott’s mom worked efficiently, giving each finger as much attention as it needed. Scott watched on awkwardly, not really sure what else to do. He’d watched his mom patch up a boo-booed Stiles so many times during their childhood, but this was different. Isaac was different. The teen in question suddenly sniffled and Scott tensed up.

“Oh sweetie, am I hurting you?” his mom asked, rubbing the back of his hand once she finished with her current finger.

“No,” Isaac whispered, shaking his head. He was pressing his lips together and looking away from everyone.

“You know, I know just what you need,” she declared softly, rummaging around to the bottom of the kit. “These were Scott’s special band aids when he had a particularly nasty cut. I don’t think he’d mind sharing with you. They always made him feel better.” She wrapped the bandage around one of his fingertips, the Batman symbol sitting proudly on top. Isaac huffed out a laugh, discreetly wiping at his eye as soon as she turned to put away the rest of the supplies. The oven timer beeped, cutting through the awkward moment.

“My chicken!” Scott exclaimed, darting over to open the oven. The kitchen filled with the delicious smell and warmth and Scott was ready to tear into the bird. He grabbed the oven mitts and pulled out the pan, smiling at the little sounds of joy his mom was making.

“That looks wonderful, boys!” she chirped, snapping the lid of the first aid kit closed. “Let me go change while the meat rests and then we can eat.”

“Thanks so much for this, Isaac,” Scott said sincerely. “I owe you big time for this.”

“Nah, I think we’re even,” Isaac chuckled, flashing him another look at the Batman bandage before hiding his hands away again. Scott smiled, setting the table and getting everything ready for dinner.

The chicken was a hit and Scott’s mom couldn’t stop raving about it during the meal. Isaac stayed quiet, but Scott noticed the way his cheeks would turn pink and how his heart would give a little pleased flutter at all of her compliments. She started telling them stories about work when she realized Isaac wasn’t going to offer up any topics of conversation, but it was still nice. She even got a few laughs out of him.

“I should really get going,” Isaac said, after helping clean up as much as they’d let him. His mom didn’t want him to get his hands too wet and wash off the cream, but Isaac refused to sit by and do nothing, so they let him dry the dishes while wearing bright yellow gloves.

“It was wonderful to meet you and I hope to see you again soon. You’re always welcome,” his mom said brightly, setting her hand on his arm.

“Thank you so much. I really appreciate you letting me join your family dinner. It was very nice,” Isaac said quietly, staring down at his feet. Scott could hear his heart racing and the slightest hitch in his breath, but didn’t say anything. He just filed it away in his brain in the rapidly growing list of things to be worried about. Scott still didn’t want Isaac to go home, but he’d run out of excuses to keep him here. He’d just have to watch him from now on. Isaac slipped out of the house before he could say anything else and he sagged against the counter in defeat.

“What’s his story?” his mom asked, turning to face him.

“I’m not sure yet, but I’m gonna find out,” Scott said with confidence, knowing that he wouldn’t let it rest until he knew for certain what was going on.

“Good. Let me know if you need anything from me,” she said, walking over to give him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m going to head to bed early. Don’t stay up too late.” She walked out of the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Scott may have lived a pretty sheltered life before the bite, but he knew how the world worked. He saw enough TV shows to recognize the classic signs of abuse and Isaac was throwing out all of them. Now he just had to find some proof.


	5. Chapter 5

Scott barely slept that night, his mind never straying too far from the curly haired boy with the sad eyes who he’d shared an afternoon with. He ran through different scenarios in his head, like taking his concerns to his mom or even Sheriff Stilinski, but that felt like too much at this point. If they confronted Isaac with only speculation, there was too much of a chance he’d clam up and never let Scott close to him again. But Scott hated the idea of doing nothing. If he thought someone was hurting Stiles, he’d raise hell and not care about repercussions. But Isaac was still a stranger and there was a very slim chance that Scott was wrong about his suspicions. He didn’t think he was though.

“So, do you think you’re ready for the quiz?” Stiles asked when he flopped down in the seat next to him. Scott had been reading over the notes as much as he could in his previous classes, glad there hadn’t been too much going on that he’d had to pay attention to. Now he was just watching the door to wait for Isaac to come into the classroom. He hadn’t seen him at all that day, which probably wasn’t too strange, since he didn’t know his schedule, but he was worried the other boy would be late again.

“Of course not,” Scott muttered, sliding the notes back to their owner. Stiles just glanced at them before putting them away, the smart jerk. Scott was tapping his fingers on the desk, flicking his eyes from the door to the clock and back again.

“What is going on with you?” Stiles asked, bumping him with his shoulder.

“Nothing, it’s just-” Scott cut himself off when the bell rang and Isaac slid into the classroom at the last second. He went to his customary seat in the back without looking up, the hood of his sweatshirt covering his face. It was hard to distinguish his heartbeat from all the others in the room, but Scott did catch a new scent: fear. And he didn’t think it was nerves about the test.

“Mr. Lahey, so nice of you to get here on time, seeing as you came all the way from 8 Mile,” Harris droned from the front of the class. “Lose the hood.” Isaac slid it off with one hand, keeping it cupped to his face and hiding it from view still. Scott’s gut clenched, afraid of what he might see, but knowing he needed to see it. He barely noticed Harris handing out the quizzes, along with the usual threats. All he could focus on was Isaac. Stiles elbowed him in the side, trying to get his attention on the task at hand without incurring Harris’ wrath, but he couldn’t look away. Not until he knew.

Isaac must’ve known Scott was watching him, because when he finally looked up, he looked right at him. Scott could only stare back, his gaze zeroed in on the bruise circling his left eye. Isaac shook his head a little before ducking his head back down, moving his quiz in front of him. Scott turned, trying to calm the wolf inside of him that wanted to burst out. He was definitely going to fail this test.

The class went by unbearably slow and Scott couldn’t remember a single question from the quiz, but he wrote down answers and he hoped they would be good enough for at least some credit. All he wanted to do was grab Isaac and demand he tell him everything. As soon as the bell rang, Isaac was out the door and into the hall. Scott was right on his heels, leaving all of his things behind and trusting Stiles would take care of it. There was no way Scott could let Isaac get away for another second. Scott caught up with him right as he tried to slip into the bathroom unnoticed, locking the door behind them as soon as he made sure there was no one else inside.

“What happened?” Scott asked, standing against the door.

“Unlock that please,” Isaac whispered, staring through Scott and to the door.

“No, I don’t want anyone coming in and interrupting us,” Scott said. What did Isaac think he was about to do, beat him up?

“Unlock it now!” Isaac demanded, raising his voice higher than Scott had ever heard it. Scott was shocked enough to listen, flipping the lock and letting Isaac by without argument. He still followed him though, trailing him until they got to the empty lacrosse field.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to upset you,” Scott said as soon as Isaac stopped walking.

“Don’t ever do that to me again,” Isaac warned, and if Scott wasn’t a werewolf, he’d probably feel threatened.

“I won’t, I promise,” Scott assured him, taking a cautious step forward. “Now, will you tell me what happened?”

“Nothing happened. It was an accident,” Isaac insisted, taking a step back in response to Scott’s step forward.

“Isaac,” Scott sighed, every inch of his body wanting to scream that Isaac could trust him and tell the truth.

“Why didn’t you ask any of the other times I came to school with a bruise?” Isaac challenged, crossing his arms over his chest.

“What other times?” Scott gasped, feeling immediately guilty. Had this been going on for a long time and he hadn’t even noticed?

“Exactly. No one cared before, but now I’m just supposed to open up to you?” Isaac scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“I’m sorry I didn’t notice,” Scott whispered. How many other things around him did he ignore, focused on his own issues?

“It wasn’t your problem, just like it isn’t your problem now,” Isaac sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It’s nothing to worry about anyway. I’m just clumsy.”

“Clumsy?”

“Yeah, I ran into my closet door last night.”

“Then why were you trying to hide it?”

“To avoid this,” Isaac answered, waving his hands between the two of them. “I knew you’d overreact after what you saw yesterday in the locker room and I just wanted to avoid it.” Scott didn’t think he was overreacting. Overreacting would be dragging Isaac straight to the Sheriff’s station and not letting him leave until they heard the whole story. But Isaac wasn’t ready to hear that plan.

“I didn’t mean- I wasn’t-” Scott stammered, trying to find the right words. He didn’t expect this to be so hard. He thought they’d made good strides yesterday during their afternoon together, but it was like none of that mattered now. Isaac spoke before he could continue.

“Look, I’m sure you’re a nice guy and all, but you don’t need to keep doing all this. We helped each other a couple times and that’s it, okay?” Isaac said, backing away toward the school. “I gotta go, but I’ll see you around.” Isaac took off before Scott could say anything else, making him feel like a failure. He wanted to help so badly, but he had a feeling that he just made things worse. He’d been so full of himself to think that a nice afternoon could help solve all of Isaac’s problems, would convince him to open up to a stranger. Scott slunk back toward the cafeteria, determined to make things right with Isaac during practice.

But Isaac didn’t show up to practice. And since it was Friday, Scott wouldn’t see Isaac until Monday. He considered stopping by Isaac’s work to pretend to run into him, but that would way overstep boundaries. You didn’t just happen upon someone at the cemetery, especially when you don’t have any family buried there. Scott had to do something, but he didn’t know what.

“Dude, where are you right now?” Stiles asked him, after his video game character died for the third time in a span of two minutes. Scott sighed, throwing down his controller. He’d been trying to distract himself with some normal Friday night gaming with Stiles, but it wasn’t working.

“Boys, I’m home,” Sheriff Stilinski called from the front door.

“I gotta go to the bathroom,” Scott said, shuffling out of the room. Stiles just grumbled behind him, going back to the game. This might be a good opportunity to get some real advice for his situation. The Sheriff was standing in the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of water.

“Hey there Scott, how’re you doing?” he greeted.

“Um, could I ask you a question?” Scott asked, suddenly nervous. Stiles’ dad was a good guy and he’d gotten to know him pretty well during their lengthy friendship, but this was still an uncomfortable conversation to have.

“Sure. Are you okay?” he asked, gesturing for him to sit at the table with him. Scott slid into the seat across from him, twisting at the end of his sleeve. He stopped when that made him think even more about Isaac.

“Yeah, I just had a question about someone else,” Scott said, biting the inside of his cheek. “What do you do if you suspect someone is being abused?”

“Has someone been hurting you? Or Stiles?” Mr. Stilinski asked immediately, sitting up straighter in his chair.

“No, no, it’s not us. We’re fine,” Scott assured, hoping the man wouldn’t think this was one of those hypotheticals that was really about yourself. “It’s another boy at school.”

“What makes you think he’s being hurt?” he questioned, relaxing a bit once Scott told him his son was safe. Scott had always been a terrible liar when it came to the Sheriff.

“I’ve seen bruises. And just the way he acts,” Scott answered, wringing his hands. He wished Isaac was there now and he could just present him to the sheriff and save the day.

“Has he told you what’s happening?”

“No, he just blamed it on other things, like being clumsy.” Scott didn’t want to give the lacrosse excuse, because that would narrow things down too much and possibly give Isaac away too soon.

“It’s complicated when you don’t have definitive proof. In cases like this, it’s common for the child to lie and defend their abuser, because of fear or having been taught to keep quiet. Then our hands are tied and the child has to go back into that situation, to a person who is now even angrier,” Mr. Stilinski explained. “If you’re sure, I can get the ball rolling with the proper authorities to get an investigation started, but the system isn’t always perfect.”

“What if I don’t have proof?” Scott asked, feeling completely discouraged.

“Just try being there for him. Sometimes being a soft place to land is enough to get someone to open up. Let him know you’re there for him if he needs anything, but don’t push or he’ll just run the other way.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I already messed up,” Scott scoffed, shaking his head. He’d expected too much from a boy who’d spent his life gliding through unnoticed. Of course he would be wary of Scott.

“Believe me, I know what it’s like to want to help someone and it not work out. I see it too much in my line of work. But that doesn’t stop me from trying,” Mr. Stilinski said, putting a friendly hand on his shoulder. “You’re a good kid and even if you don’t see it, I’m sure what you’re doing is helping. I’ve seen you help Stiles enough times to know your heart is always in the right place.”

“Thanks,” Scott said, feeling embarrassed by the praise. “And thanks for talking to me. It’s nice having an adult I can trust and go to for advice, besides my mom. Maybe I can convince my friend too.”

“You know where to find me,” the sheriff said, giving him one last pat before standing up. “I’m going to head to bed. Don’t let my son keep you up too late.” Scott gave him a goodbye nod and stayed at the table for a few more minutes to collect his thoughts.

He couldn’t blame Isaac for brushing him off, especially if what he thought was going on was right. Scott wondered if Isaac had ever reached out for help before. If he had, it obviously hadn’t gone well, if the current situation was anything to go by. But he wasn’t going to give up. Scott wasn’t going to let Isaac go back to being someone unnoticed and uncared for. Even if Isaac decided he didn’t even like Scott, he wasn’t going to stop trying to help him.


	6. Chapter 6

Scott took a jog the next morning to clear his head. The sheriff had a rare weekend off, so him and Stiles took off for an overnight camping trip out of town. Scott was going to be on his own for the weekend for the first time since the bite. It wasn’t like the full moon was coming up soon, but his emotions were still pretty tumultuous. All surrounding the curly haired boy who never left his thoughts.

He’d tried to push those thoughts away after his talk with Mr. Stilinski last night, but it only worked to a certain point. Stiles could tell there was something going on with him, but didn’t press him on it. And Scott wasn’t sure he wanted to tell him if he asked. Isaac probably wouldn’t appreciate his business being spread all over, even if Stiles could be trusted to keep quiet. Isaac didn’t know that and Scott didn’t need to risk it.

But now that he was going to be alone for a few days, there was nothing that would distract him. Scott trudged back into his house, shedding layers as he made his way to the bathroom. His mom was at work, so he didn’t have to worry about being modest right now. He shucked his shorts off and tossed them on his bed, wincing when his phone fell out of the pocket with a soft clatter. His cell phone!

Isaac had called his dad with Scott’s phone the other day at school. The number would still be logged in the memory and he could call it. Scott grabbed the phone where it had fallen on the floor, flipping through the recent calls. The number was there and Scott breathed a sigh of relief. But then he got nervous. What if this was Isaac’s dad’s cell phone? Would it be a good idea to ask for Isaac if his dad answered? And what if he did get Isaac, what would he say? Wanna come over so I know you’re safe for one night? Scott had to take the chance, didn’t he? If he did nothing and Isaac got hurt worse, he’d never forgive himself.

Scott pressed the call button before he could talk himself out of it. If Mr. Lahey answered, he’d just pretend to be a telemarketer or something.

“Hello?” Isaac’s tentative voice sounded through the speaker. Scott’s sigh of relief almost caused him to drop the phone.

“Hey, it’s me, Scott. Can we talk?” Was it safe to talk is what he really meant.

“Yeah, I guess,” Isaac mumbled, keeping his voice steady and low. He must not be alone, so Scott had to choose his words carefully. If Isaac’s dad overheard anything suspicious, he’d only be putting the other boy in danger.

“I was wondering if you’d want to come over today, maybe even spend the night?” Scott suggested, mentally crossing his fingers that he wasn’t making a mistake. “We can practice some lacrosse and maybe study?” There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few moments and Scott felt the urge to throw up. Murderous werewolves seemed easy in comparison to this.

“Um, let me ask my dad,” Isaac answered finally, making some muffled scratching noises into the phone. Scott could tell he was trying to cover the mouthpiece to give himself some privacy, but Scott's sensitive ears were still picking up every sound. Normally he would try not to listen, but this was a rare chance to see behind the curtain and he couldn’t pass it up. “A kid from school was wondering if I could stay the night at his house.”

“What kid?” his dad asked gruffly.

“Just a kid on the lacrosse team,” Isaac said.

“Since when do you have friends?” Mr. Lahey scoffed.

“He’s not, he probably just needs someone to run drills with,” Isaac mumbled.

“And he’s gonna ask the kid who hasn’t played in a single game?” he laughed mockingly. Scott felt his eyes starting to flash. “You know, maybe this is a good idea. You could use someone knocking you on your ass a little bit, maybe teach you to stop being such a failure, since I’m obviously not doing a good enough job. And I think I’ll enjoy the break too, instead of seeing your useless lump around here all weekend.” There were some more scratching noises before Isaac spoke again.

“My dad said it’s okay,” Isaac said casually, as if he hadn’t just heard his father spitting vitriol at him. Scott didn’t know how Isaac could stand it. “What time do you want me to come?”

“As soon as possible,” Scott said quickly, before forcing himself to take a breath and calm down. “I mean, anytime is good. I’m not doing anything, so why wait if you’re ready?”

“Okay, let me just grab a few things and I’ll head over,” Isaac said, hanging up the phone after a soft goodbye. Scott tossed the phone back on his bed before he could crush it in his grip. His hands were shaking from the overwhelming urge to let his claws out and rip everything around him apart. Scott’s dad wouldn’t be winning any father of the year competitions, but he would never say things like that to his own son. It was almost unfathomable and Scott probably wouldn’t even believe it if he hadn’t heard it with his own ears. He was glad Isaac was human, because he could just imagine the scents rolling off him right now. Scott needed to get in the shower and calm down before Isaac got here. He didn’t need any hints of aggression in this house.

Scott took the fastest and coldest shower of his life, trying to shock the anger out of his system. He was going to give Isaac the best weekend he could, without pressuring him and without stress. And maybe down the line they could build enough trust for Isaac to open up to him.

It was almost lunchtime, so Scott went to the kitchen to make two of the biggest sandwiches he could with what they had available. He didn’t know if Isaac had eaten yet, but he was going to make sure to have food ready for him if he was hungry. And this gave him something to do to distract himself from the waiting. Scott wasn’t sure where Isaac lived, but knew it had to be somewhat close, since they went to the same school. At least he hoped that was true, since he’d let Isaac walk home alone in the dark the other night from his house. Scott wouldn’t have thought twice about that in the past, but now he knew the kind of things that lurked out there in the dark.

About ten minutes later there was a soft knock on the kitchen door. Scott was startled again by the fact that Isaac could be so quiet. He’d have to get Isaac to teach that skill to Stiles one of these days. Scott rushed over, forcing himself to stop and compose himself before he opened the door and scared Isaac off with his intensity.

“Hey, come on in!” Scott said with a smile, stepping back to make room for Isaac to enter. He was standing with his shoulders hunched, but a tentative smile on his face. Isaac gripped the strap of his duffle bag as he walked into the kitchen, still as nervous as ever.

“Thanks for inviting me over. And I’m sorry about yesterday,” Isaac started, before Scott cut him off.

“No, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have pushed so hard!” Scott insisted.

“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have blown you off,” Isaac mumbled, twisting his hands around his bag.

“You were totally right to. I overstepped. I think I normally get away with being nosy because Stiles is much more up front about it,” Scott babbled, wanting to get past the hard stuff so he could fully focus on Project: Become Isaac’s Friend.

“S’okay. I guess I’m just not used to having someone talk to me, about anything really,” Isaac shrugged, letting his eyes wander over to the counter where the sandwiches sat. Scott wanted to pet Isaac’s hair like a puppy and protect him from the world. But if he couldn’t do that, he could at least feed the boy.

“Oh yeah, I made us lunch! Don’t worry, everything was already precooked,” Scott laughed, needling a smile out of Isaac.

“It looks great, thank you,” Isaac grinned, shifting his bag a little.

“Let’s eat this in my room, and you can set your stuff down in there too. Do you think you can carry the drinks? What do you want?” Scott rambled, pulling open the door of the fridge. “We’ve got water, obviously, milk, orange juice, cola, root beer, and ginger ale, but I think that’s my mom’s.”

“Water is fine,” Isaac chuckled, watching him dash around the room like a madman. Scott wasn’t sure what teenage boy would choose water when soda was available, but that was something to think about later. He wouldn’t dismiss what Isaac said he wanted. Scott quickly filled two glasses and handed them to Isaac before grabbing the sandwiches and leading him up to his room.

“Here we are,” Scott said unnecessarily, pushing open his door and setting the plates down on his desk. Isaac was standing in the doorway, waiting to be directed evidently. That was kind of his default. “You can put the glasses on the desk and your bag wherever. We don’t really have a guest room, but we can figure out sleeping arrangements later.” Isaac followed the instructions, of course, then waited for the next cue. Scott was so used to Stiles just making himself at home wherever he was, but he knew he couldn’t expect the same from Isaac. Stiles was his own breed and he didn’t need to keep mentally comparing them.

Scott moved the plates over to the bed, gesturing for Isaac to follow and sit beside him. Isaac perched on the edge while Scott sat with his back against the wall next to the window. He grabbed the smaller of the two sandwiches instead of asking Isaac to choose, since Scott knew he wouldn’t. He tucked into his food, happy to let the sounds of chewing break up the silence that had settled in the room. Maybe he should put on some music or something?

“This is really good,” Isaac murmured around a mouthful of food. Scott beamed at him, pleased more by the fact that Isaac had spoken unprompted than he was about the compliment.

“Thanks! Not as good as the dinner from the other night though,” Scott pointed out.

“Well, you made that too so…” Isaac trailed off, taking another bite.

“Barely,” Scott scoffed, swallowing his mouthful. “I wouldn’t have even attempted it if you weren’t there to hold my hand through every step. My mom loved it the most though. She took all the leftovers to work for lunch the next day and she said everyone was so jealous.”

“You’ll have to make it for her again,” Isaac mumbled, popping the last of his sandwich in his mouth. Scott hummed in agreement, finishing his own sandwich. Now that they were done eating, he didn’t know what to do. That was pretty much as far ahead as he’d planned. Stiles was always the idea guy. If things were left up to Scott and Isaac, they were likely to spend time watching paint dry in silence.

“Do you game?” Scott asked, taking their plates and replacing them with the glasses of water.

“Um, not really. I don’t have any of the current systems,” Isaac answered, taking a sip of water.

“You want to play? Stiles and I went in together on a couple systems and some games. He keeps the Xbox at his house and I keep the Playstation here. I think I have a few games that are easy enough to figure out the controllers on,” Scott babbled, nodding his head in excitement. Isaac shrugged, sending him a fond chuckle.

They spent the next few hours playing games and snacking on whatever Scott could find. He found out that Isaac wasn’t very fond of the games that were about violence, especially ones that had soldiers, and liked to play on a team with Scott, instead of against him. His favorites were the racing games, judging by his intense concentration and the semi consistent smiles that would break through. They didn’t talk much, but you didn’t always need to.

“Are you really playing video games while the weather is so nice?” Scott’s mom called out as she walked into the door. When she finally turned around to face him her eyes brightened at the sight of Isaac. “Oh Isaac, it’s so nice to see you again!”

“It’s nice to see you too, Ms. McCall,” Isaac mumbled, staring down at his controller.

“Oh please, call me Melissa,” she giggled, toeing off her shoes. “Did Scott tell you how I made all the gals at work green with envy with my lunch yesterday? I bragged to all of them about how my boys cooked me dinner.”

“Um, could I use the bathroom?” Isaac asked, his voice taking on that breathy quality Scott noticed when Isaac seemed to get overwhelmed.

“Yeah, use the one in my room,” Scott directed, keeping his face neutral until Isaac was out of sight.

“Did I say something wrong?” his mom asked with a wince. Scott sighed, ushering her into the kitchen so they’d have more privacy.

“Isaac’s just a little skittish, you know?” Scott said, keeping an ear open for any approaching footsteps.

“Yeah, I remember,” she scoffed, opening the fridge to grab a drink.

“So just like, act natural, but not aggressively natural,” Scott said, furrowing his brow.

“Somehow, I think I understand what you mean,” his mom laughed, taking a sip of her ginger ale. “Is he staying for dinner again?”

“He’s actually staying the night, if that’s okay?” Scott asked hopefully.

“Yes, that’s fine. Although I didn’t really plan for it when it comes to meals. I guess we’re gonna have to do some grocery shopping tonight,” she declared, grinning at his forlorn look.

“Aw, I hate shopping!” Scott whined, crossing his arms like a pouting child.

“Too bad. I want to get something that Isaac will actually like, since he’s our guest,” his mom grinned, patting him on the cheek.

“He won’t tell us any of his preferences. Funnily enough, he just so happens to like all the same things I like,” Scott sighed, shaking his head. How could he expect Isaac to open up to him about possible abuse when he wouldn’t even tell him what he liked to drink?

“You’ll just have to watch him when you’re in the store. Ask him his opinion and then watch him. He might say he doesn’t care, but pay attention to what he’s looking at. People have a lot of tells, if you know what to look for,” she advised, raising her eyebrows at his look of understanding.

“That’s actually really smart!” Scott laughed, running that suggestion through his head.

“I’m choosing not to take offense by how you said that,” his mom snorted, walking past him toward the stairs. “I’m gonna go change. We leave in ten.” 

Scott put away the video games, giving Isaac a bit more time to finish up in the bathroom. He’d heard the almost inaudible intake of breath when his mom called them her boys, and it made Scott’s heart break. His mom was always the type to throw out terms of endearment to anyone she came across, but Isaac reacted like he never heard kind words. Most likely, he hadn’t. At least not for a while. And not from the person he probably wanted to hear it from most.

He trotted up the stairs and back to his room, peeking to make sure Isaac wasn’t the type to use the bathroom with the door open. When he saw it was safe he walked in, freezing when he heard a little sniffle coming from the other room. Did he take this chance to see if Isaac would open up? Was this too soon? He’d been so gung ho about it before, but now that finding out more was a possibility, Scott was terrified. He didn’t think Isaac would be pleased to find Scott standing in here listening to him cry like a creeper. Scott glanced around the room, moving to the desk to make some noise to announce his presence. He heard the faucet immediately turn on and he winced, hoping Isaac didn’t realize what he’d been doing.

Isaac came out a minute later, keeping his head ducked low. Scott still had a pretty good view of his face, since Isaac was so tall. His eyes and nose were a little red and Scott could smell the saltiness of tears that Isaac hadn’t been able to wipe away completely.

“Are you okay?” Scott asked cautiously, shifting his weight a little.

“Yeah, just a bit of an allergy flare up,” Isaac mumbled, wiping at his nose a little as if to emphasize his claim. As much as Scott ached to ask Isaac for the truth, he knew this was one of those moments where he would either scare the other boy away, or show he could be trusted not to push too hard.

“Dude, that sucks. I used to get allergies really bad when I was younger, which was not fun with my asthma. I probably still have some allergy meds around here somewhere, if you want one?” Scott offered, pretending to look around the room for them.

“No, but thank you,” Isaac said, shooting him a grateful smile. Looks like he made the right call.

“So my mom has to go grocery shopping and she wants us to come along,” Scott said, moving over toward his closet to grab a jacket.

“Do you want me to go home?” Isaac asked, looking uneasy again. “I don’t want to get in the way of your errands.”

“No man, you coming with is the only thing that will make it bearable,” Scott scoffed, shrugging into his coat.

“It’s not because of me, is it? You don’t have to get me anything,” Isaac said, biting his lip.

“No, we didn’t even have food to feed ourselves tonight. And I’m pretty sure my mom needs more ginger ale. This trip would be happening no matter what,” Scott assured him, leaning down to tie his shoes.

“I should chip in though. I don’t carry much cash, but you can put it toward food,” Isaac stammered, reaching into his pocket to pull out his wallet. Scott bounced up, taking a chance and putting one of his hands over Isaac’s. The other boy only flinched a little, but stopped his increasingly frantic movements.

“You don’t have to do that. We’re just going to be buying the basics, just stuff we always get,” Scott said, urging his hand back toward his pocket. “Unless you want something crazy like caviar. Then you’re on your own.” Isaac couldn’t help his snort of laughter at that, tucking his wallet away.

“Do I look like someone who eats fish eggs?” he asked, moving toward where his own shoes were sitting.

“People can surprise you,” Scott commented, smiling down at him. Isaac looked up through his bouncy curls, flashing a small smile of his own.

“Yeah, they can.”


	7. Chapter 7

Scott and Isaac piled into the backseat of the car, listening to his mom tell them about her day. Isaac seemed to be settled by this point and his mom was making sure to be careful to keep it that way. She wasn’t saying anything directly to Isaac, but wasn’t being obvious about it either. Scott threw some “yeahs” and “uh huhs” out there, just to be polite, but most of his attention stayed on Isaac. 

His mom was right that he’d probably learn more about the boy by just watching him instead of asking him. But what neither of them knew was all the other things he could look out for too. He could listen to his breathing and heartbeat. He could smell those subtle scent changes. Scott had already been aware of them, but now he was forcing himself to be hyper aware.

They pulled up to the grocery store, Scott’s mom groaning when she saw how busy it was. She rummaged around in her purse, snagging a piece of paper out before tearing it in half.

“Okay, here’s the plan. You boys will take this half of the list and I’ll take the other. I’ll grab all the fresh stuff, while you get the shelf stable. Meet at the checkstands in twenty,” she directed, handing the slip of paper back to him. Only his mom could make grocery shopping sound like a recon mission. But at least it eased a smile out of Isaac. He did seem to like being given a task.

They split up at the door, Scott and Isaac taking their own cart and dashing down the aisles. Isaac grabbed a paper from the front, but Scott didn’t pay much attention to it. He was too busy trying to find where to go. Usually if he was stuck doing the shopping with his mom, he stuck to her side and let her figure everything out. Or he’d wander around to look at magazines and sneak some cookies into the cart. He knew where those things were, but canned corn could be literally anywhere.

“Dude, how do people do this?” Scott asked, mystified by all the people who seemed to know exactly where they were going. It had to be an adult thing.

“It’s grocery shopping, not rocket science,” Isaac scoffed, peeking over his shoulder to scan the list.

“Lead the way,” Scott offered, relinquishing control of the cart. Isaac rolled his eyes, pushing the cart in the direction of the nearest aisle. Isaac moved like he lived there, weaving through other customers and grabbing whatever was on the list. It was kind of impressive.

“What brand does your mom like?” Isaac asked once they got to an item that wasn’t specific enough.

“I don’t know, whatever’s cheapest I guess,” Scott said, not sure if it mattered that much when it came to buying chicken broth. Isaac sighed, flipping through his paper and glancing down at the tags on the shelf. “What are you looking for?”

“Coupons,” Isaac murmured, smiling as he reached for a can.

“This one is cheaper though,” Scott pointed out, tapping on a different can.

“Not really. You’ve got to look at the price per unit. That one is only cheaper because it’s smaller. This bigger one is a better deal and has a coupon,” Isaac explained, carefully tearing out the tiny square of paper. Scott couldn’t help but be impressed. He might be able to fight monsters, but Isaac knew how to take care of himself.

“Amazing,” Scott breathed, looking at the tags on the shelf closer than he ever had before.

“It’s just grocery shopping,” Isaac dismissed, but Scott could see his cheeks turning a little pink in embarrassed pleasure. Acts of service and words of affirmation sprung into Scott’s head and he stifled a groan, remembering the articles about love languages Stiles had sent him a while ago when he was moaning about how to win Allison over. It may not be going so well in that regard, but that knowledge might help with Isaac.

They made it through most of the list, with Scott letting Isaac show him more tricks of the trade. Evidently stores put what they wanted to sell most of at eye level and kept the better deals down low. Scott felt like he was being initiated into some sort of secret club. They hit a snag when they got to the bottom of the list and his mom got really vague.

“I think you need to handle this part,” Isaac said, pointing to the item that just said snacks. Scott knew his mom had done this on purpose, to give Scott a chance to do what they’d talked about earlier. Scott led Isaac over to the chip aisle, pretending to not know what he wanted. He always went for the cool ranch Doritos, but he wanted to give Isaac a chance to telegraph some of his true feelings.

“Any suggestions?” Scott asked, watching Isaac’s eyes snap away from the pretzels. He pretended to look through the paper instead.

“It’s your house. I don’t need anything,” Isaac mumbled. Pretzels weren’t Scott’s favorite, but he’d eat a million of them if that meant Isaac was comfortable enough to even eat one. Scott grabbed the Doritos for himself, some popcorn for his mom, and the peanut butter filled pretzels he was pretty sure Isaac had been eyeing. Isaac’s face didn’t give much away this time, but his heartbeat gave a little pleased flutter. Scott wanted to cry thinking about why the simple act of getting a preferred snack would have such an effect on Isaac, but he couldn’t fall through that rabbithole in the middle of the store. They repeated the process in the drink aisle, with Scott grabbing his mom’s ginger ale, his root beer, and orange soda for Isaac.

It was finally time to meet up with his mom at the front of the store and Scott felt a little proud when he noticed they beat her there. He always got distracted and lost, even when she sent him off to find one simple thing.

“Wow, I’m impressed!” his mom said delightedly as she scanned over what they had in their cart. “Did you get everything on the list?”

“Of course!” Scott laughed, bumping Isaac a little with his elbow. “Isaac is like a professional when it comes to this.”

“I found a couple coupons for some of these things,” Isaac said, holding out the little squares. His mom beamed up at him, giving his hand the gentlest of pats as she took the papers from him.

“That’s it, I’m definitely keeping you around,” she laughed, thumbing through the coupons.

“Do you mind if I grab something really quick?” Isaac asked, shuffling his feet a bit. “And I’ll meet you back at the car?”

“Of course not sweetie. Did you need me to grab you something?” she questioned, trying not to look worried.

“No, that’s okay. I’ve got it,” Isaac assured, slinking away before they could ask anymore questions.

“Did I say something wrong?” Scott’s mom asked him, biting the inside of her cheek. Scott hadn’t heard any changes in breathing or his heartbeat to indicate anything was wrong, but he couldn’t use those reasons to reassure his mom.

“I don’t think so. Maybe he just needed something embarrassing, like toilet paper?” Scott wondered.

“Toilet paper is not embarrassing. Everyone uses it,” she scoffed, directing them to a shorter line. They started emptying the carts onto the conveyor belt, his mom eyeing the things they grabbed that weren’t specified on the list. “Did he tell you what he wanted?”

“No, but I think your idea worked,” Scott said, giving the bag of pretzels a little shake.

“Of course I was right,” she laughed, giving his arm a gentle shove. “Comes with the territory of being a mom.” Scott rolled his eyes, but really felt warmth inside. If he was right about Isaac’s dad, it just made him appreciate his mom more. He didn’t know what he’d do without her.

Scott kept his eyes open for Isaac, but didn’t see him again until they got back to the car. He didn’t want to admit how relieved he felt when he saw the timid teen standing there with a grocery bag in his hand, glancing around awkwardly at the other customers going to their own cars. Scott couldn’t see what he had, due to the paper bag that was obscuring the contents, but as he got closer he thought he caught the hint of some kind of perfume. He forced himself not to pry.

Isaac set his bag carefully on the seat as soon as the car was unlocked, before moving to the back and helping his mom load in the groceries. He was a lot more careful than Scott ever was, making sure the breakables stayed on top. How anyone could dislike this kid, he’d never know.

“Thanks hon,” his mom said, leaving Scott to push the cart back to the return area. This he knew how to do. The ride back home was pretty much the same, except Isaac seemed a little more nervous this time. He was holding his bag very carefully in his lap and Scott was trying so hard not to peek. He didn’t think it was going to be something weird, but again, he didn’t know Isaac all that well. Although, how bad could it be if he got it at the grocery store?

Scott rushed to the back as soon as they parked, grabbing as many bags as he could. Werewolf strength had its advantages. Isaac took the rest, leaving his mom to unlock the doors and usher them inside. Isaac stood to the side with his bag clutched to his chest, since he didn’t really know where anything went enough to be able to help. Scott could see his mom shooting glances at both of them every so often, but she knew better than to ask at this point.

“I was thinking about spaghetti for tonight. Any objections?” his mom asked, shaking a jar of sauce.

“Sounds great mom, can we help?” Scott offered, knowing Isaac would want to.

“Sure. Let’s all get washed up so we can get started,” she suggested.

“Wait,” Isaac called out, startling both of them. “I have something for you.” He brought his mysterious bag to the table, reaching in and pulling out a flower.

“What’s that?” Scott asked, poking at one of the delicate white petals.

“It’s an orchid,” his mom said, covering her mouth as she approached the table.

“I wanted to get you something to thank you for welcoming me into your house. I thought about getting a normal bouquet of flowers, but I saw this and remembered I saw one of these printed on your cookie jar. Live plants last longer than cut flowers,” Isaac explained, his cheeks turning red in embarrassment. “Is that okay? I hope you aren’t allergic.”

“Oh darling, of course it’s okay. You really didn’t need to do that, but thank you so much,” his mom murmured, stepping forward to stand in front of him. “May I give you a hug?” Isaac looked startled by the question, but nodded his head. She wrapped her arms gently around his shoulders, leaning up on her toes so her head wasn’t resting against his chest. Isaac didn’t seem to know how to react, standing stiff before hesitantly bringing his arms up to wrap around her back. He closed his eyes, turning his head to the side. Scott had to turn away himself, wiping at his own eyes at the display in front of him. This was a boy who wasn’t shown affection that often, that much was clear.

They eventually broke apart, his mom carefully wiping away a tear from under Isaac’s bruised eye that had rolled down his cheek without Scott noticing. Isaac sniffled, looking down in embarrassment. He had to know that wasn’t a normal reaction to a thank you hug from an almost stranger. Isaac wasn’t going to be able to hide the truth for much longer.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I always forget this shampoo is a little spicy for some people. It’s peppermint and tea tree oil. Gives one of my fellow nurses the sneezes every time,” his mom laughed, giving Isaac an out. He smiled warmly at her, openly appreciating her not questioning his reaction.

“Come on dude, let’s put our jackets in my room so we can get the food started. I’m starving,” Scott said, waving behind him for Isaac to follow. When the other boy joined him in his room, the awkward Isaac was back in full force. It was like it was impossible for him to get relaxed and stay relaxed.

“Uh-”

“Do you have a crush on my mom?” Scott interrupted, keeping his face serious for a fraction of a second before spitting out a laugh. “You’re kind of young to become my stepdad.”

“Oh my God, no!” Isaac denied, giving his shoulder a playful shove. “It was like, a hostess gift, you know?”

“What’s that?” Scott asked, shedding his jacket.

“I saw it on TV before. It’s polite to get someone a gift when they invite you into their home,” Isaac explained, dropping his own coat next to Scott’s.

“Well then, shouldn’t I have gotten the gift? I’m the one who invited you over,” Scott proposed, shooting him a crooked smile.

“Sure, I’ll bring you a flower next time,” Isaac scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“And I’ll be expecting it!” Scott laughed, scooting Isaac back downstairs. All three of them converged in the kitchen to make dinner, even though it was only boiling noodles and heating up jarred sauce. Isaac still wasn’t the most talkative, but he was laughing more at Scott and his mom’s casual banter. Scott almost ruined the dish by adding salt to the sauce instead of the noodle water, but Isaac saved the day at the last second. After that he was banished to the sidelines to observe while Isaac and his mom handled the actual cooking. Scott was happy enough to do so, since Isaac seemed to be relaxing a bit more around his mom. Who knew how powerful a hug could be?

“Anybody want a drink?” Scott offered, moving over to the fridge. He had a plan in place, to see if Isaac would actually request the orange soda he was pretty sure he’d like.

“I’ll take a ginger ale,” his mom agreed, taking out a noodle to test it.

“Just water is fine, thanks,” Isaac said, stirring the sauce. So, subterfuge it was. He grabbed his mom’s can and cracked it open, along with one of the orange sodas.

“Aw crap, I thought I was opening my root beer, but I accidentally opened an orange,” Scott moaned, putting the drinks on the table. “I really wanted a root beer, but I don’t want this to go to waste. And everyone knows how fast it’ll go flat if I put it back in the fridge.”

“Gotta learn to be more careful, sweetie,” his mom chided, shooting him a smirk behind Isaac’s back.

“I guess I’ll just have to drink it. Unless…” Scott trailed off, before glancing up to look at Isaac with a smile. “Would you want to drink it, Isaac? You don’t have to, but you’d be doing me a favor.”

“Uh, sure,” Isaac said, eyeballing him a bit. So maybe he was a little over the top, but it worked. Scott got his own drink and then set the table, finishing up just as the food was. His mom served everyone, probably remembering how hesitant Isaac was to take enough of the last meal they shared. Teen boys were like bottomless pits, but Isaac was too careful to give in to those urges. A helping hand never hurt.

This meal went even better than the last, with Isaac commenting here and there during different topics. Scott found out that Isaac was really into comic books as a kid and made a note to mention that to Stiles, as a way to hopefully get them to bond someday too. Scott did the dishes after dinner, since he hadn’t really been involved in the cooking, but Isaac stayed to help dry. It turned out to be a really nice night.

“Well, I’m gonna head to bed. I have an early shift tomorrow, so try not to make too much noise tonight,” his mom said, standing up and stretching from her seat at the kitchen table. “Were you planning on staying for dinner tomorrow night, Isaac?”

“I’m not sure. Would it be okay if I did?” Isaac asked, staring down at the plate in his hand.

“I’d love it if you did. It’s been nice having another hand in the kitchen. Maybe some of this will start rubbing off on Scott,” she laughed, stepping over to give Scott a goodnight kiss on the cheek. She hesitated when she got to Isaac, waiting for him to signal if he was uncomfortable with the gesture. Isaac tilted his head ever so slightly down, bringing his cheek lower for his mom to reach. She smiled, leaning up to give him a light peck. Once again, Isaac’s face was as red as a tomato, but there were no tears this time. Isaac watched her walk off, turning to face Scott and his grin after she left.

“Don’t even say it,” Isaac grumbled, setting down the plate and tossing the towel at Scott’s chest.

“Will you give me an allowance? Maybe buy me a car? Something to help ease this transition of you joining the family?” Scott laughed, drying off his hands and Isaac huffed in annoyance.

“How about I ground you and send you to bed with no dessert?” Isaac snarked.

“How about we game for a few more hours until we’re actually tired?” Scott countered, nodding his head back toward the living room. Isaac agreed and they spent a few more hours driving cars and playing basketball. It was around midnight when Isaac’s yawns started getting closer together and they decided to call it a night. They hadn’t discussed sleeping arrangements yet, but hopefully it would go smoothly since the night went so well.

Scott let Isaac use the bathroom first as he gathered up all the extra blankets and pillows they had in the house. The more comfortable Isaac was tonight, the more likely he’d be willing to come back.  
“So, your options are the floor or bunking with me,” Scott said, cradling all the bedding to his chest.

“The floor is good. I’m a kicker,” Isaac chuckled, grabbing one of the pillows from him. “Oh no, I meant to grab the other pillow, but I accidentally grabbed this one instead. Gosh, you’d do me a big favor if you took this pillow for me. I wouldn’t want it to go to waste.” Scott grimaced, knowing his little performance had been too obvious.

“Sorry-”

“No, no, thanks,” Isaac said, giving him a smile. “I know what you were doing and I appreciate it. Just don’t try that move on other people, it’s not that good.”

“I’m not taking drama for a reason,” Scott agreed.

“Really though, thank you. I know I’m kind of weird, but I’m just not used to this whole friendship thing,” Isaac mumbled, scratching the back of his head.

“Are we? Friends I mean?” Scott asked hopefully.

“Yeah, if you want to be,” Isaac replied, mirroring the same hopeful look that was on Scott’s face. They were finally getting somewhere and this time, Isaac was the one saying the words first.

“I’d really like that.”


End file.
